Atomizer



F. W. LOHSE March 1,7, 1936.

Filed Jan. 29, 19:54 l,

1976775624 57 mgm am fw fw/dm /-oww Patented Mar. 17, 1936 ATOMIZER Frederick W. Lohse, North Attleboro, Mass., assignor to T. J. Holmes Company Inc., Norton, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 29, 1934, Serial No. 708,826

6 Claims.

This invention relates to liquid atomizers and is intended to provide a simple and eiiicient construction capable of electively atomizing both light and heavy liquids through the utilization of the ejector principle of atomizing reenforced or assisted by air pressure simultaneously produced on the surface of the liquid in the container. A further object is to provide simple and reliable means for sealing the container against leakage of the liquid in whatever position it may be held when not in use and to provide a construction that may be readily taken apart for quick and thorough cleansing to prevent clogging of air or of liquid passages.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated a simple and convenient construction embodying the principles of this invention, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the completely assembled atomizer ready for use.

Fig. 2 is a central vertical section on an enlarged scale of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail view in cross section on the plane 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical central section similar to Fig. 2 except that the sealing tip is applied to prevent escape of the liquid from the container.

Fig. 5 is a detail showing on an enlarged scale a cross sectional view on the plane of 5--5 of Fig. 2 illustrating the relationship of the tip of the eduction tube to the surrounding wall of the atomizing cap.

In the practice of this invention as illustrated any suitable container, such as a bottle I with a threaded neck, is employed to contain the liquid. The bottle stopper member 2 is usually of metal which may be machined from bar stock land has at its bottom a peripheral flange 2a covered by the flange of a separate screw cap 3, which clamps the stopper against an interposed washer 4 to make a reliable seal preventing leakage at the joint.

The stopper is provided with a central bore 5 extending through the stopper from end to end. The middle portion of the bore at 5a is of somewhat larger diameter than the lower portion and the upper portion of the bore, as shown at 5b, is of somewhat larger diameter than -the middle portion, thus producing two annular shoulders or ledges at the points where one diameter merges into the next larger diameter of the bore.

A compressed air tube 6 is secured in an eXterior recess formed in the stopper preferably by a threaded connection and from this air tube receving recess there extends to, and through, the upper endof the stopper a compressed air duct 1.

The periphery of the upper portion of the stopper is screw threaded to receive an internally 'threaded cap member 8, which in commotion with the stopper forms an interior air chamber.

A liquid eduction tube 9 is inserted through ,5 the central passage or bore of the stopper, being dimensioned to have its upper and its loweren'ds projecting beyond the ends of the bored'lstopper and also constructed or dimensioned to leave an air passage between the outside' of the li'quideduc- 10 tion tube 9 and the inner' wall of the bore. It will therefore be seen that there is formed an interior air chamber between the atomizer cap' 8 and the stopper, which chamber is reduced or contracted in the tip of the cap and has .an outlet V.15 through' the aperture 8a formed in the cap in line with the eduction tube.

The purpose of contracting the chamber around the upper end of the eduction tube is to form an atomizing space through which the liquid is disi20 charged in spray form, there being aslight annular clearance between the tapered upper end of the eduction tube 9 and the surrounding portion o'i the cap.

To permit quick removal of the eduction vtube 25 for cleaning purposes, I provide a collar '|10 of polygonal or non-circular contour so as toll'eave space for the passage of air through theV .bore into the bottle and also form a positioning Support` for properly locating and positioning the ,30 eduction tube in the stopper. As shown in fFig. 3, thisV enlargement or supporting guide member lll is dimensioned to snugly fit around the tube to which it is rsweated .or soldered and also to have portions of its exterior form snug engagement with the cylindrical wall of the intermediate portion .5a of the stopper bore. This polygonal sleeve l0 is made somewhat shorter than the axial length of the surrounding portion 5a of the bore for a purpose presently to .be described. When xgio the Vtube is inserted it is pushed downthrough'the 'bore until the collar or sleeve I0 seats'against the ledge formed at the bottom kof this intermediate portion 5a of the bore, which corners tsnugly enough to hold the tube in alignment withthe axis of the bore. By unscrewing the cap 98: to a vgreater or less degree, the volume of the fspray Vmay be regulated lin accordance with the ejector air space leftV between the .tapered upper end of kthe tubeA 1-9 .and the :surrounding lportion of Athe :50

cap. To insure a :clearance between the upper end of the eduction tube 8 and the surrounding annular wall of the cap V8, Iprefer to bevel o the .opposite sides of the :tip :end -of said .tube 9., :as `shovvnin Fig. 2. The :annu-lar shoulderbserves 56 by its engagement with the unbevelled periphery of the tip end of the tube 9 to hold the eduction tube in correct position of alignment, while permitting the air to escape through the clearance spaces provided by the bevelling aforesaid.

It will be seen that the compressed air entering through the tube 6 enters the air chamber at the top of the stopper member through the duct 1.

The air can escape from the interior chamber between the bevelled faces of the tube and the annular shoulder 8b even when the cap is completely screwed down, but by slightly unscrewing the cap this annular shoulder 8b is brought nearer to the tip end of the delivery tube where the bevelled face is farther removed from the cap so as to increase the ejector action. Some of the air also escapes from the air chamber at the top of the stopper down through the bore 5, around the liquid eduction tube 9 into the bottle producing excess pressure on the liquid in the bottle. Obviously, the more the cap is unscrewed the greater will be the volume of air passing directly out through the cap and the less will be the volume of air passing into the stopper. Hence there is obtained complete control or regulation of the spray.

In order to effect simple and convenient sealing of the stopper to render it absolutely leakproof, I provide a cup-like sealing member I5, which is in the form of a cylindrical tube closed at the upper end and Vhaving its lower open end bevelled to engage the edge of the upper shoulder in the bore at the juncture of the middle portion a and the upper portion 5b of the bore. This sealing tip is readily slipped over the upper end of the eduction tube when the cap 8 has been removed and its upper end is engaged by an interior shoulder of the cap, as shown in Fig. 4, so that when the cap is screwed down as far as possible it forces the sealing tip into firm engagement with the annular seat making a perfectly tight joint at that point. Since the upper end of the sealing tip is closed and there is no possibility of escape of the liquid around its bottom, it is apparent that with the cap screwed tightly down a very effective and positive leak-proof seal is provided.

' Sincethe sealing tip l5 is ordinarily quite small,

in order to prevent its being mislaid or lost I provide a retaining member .or clip comprising a spring tongue I3, whose lower end is bent at right angles and perforated to t over the reduced threaded lower end of the compressed air pipe 6. The air compressing bulb Il is provided with an interiorly threaded' nipple I2, which when screwed tightly in place serves to clamp this perforated lower extension of the clip I3 in posi- 'tion to receive and retain the sealing tip when the sealing tip is not in use. It will be observed that when the atomizer is in use the cap 8 forms an essential part of the structure and when the atomizer is not in use it also functions as a means for tightly seating and holding the tapered lower end ISHl of the sealing tip to its seat to prevent leakage.

The construction is very simple and inexpensive; is capable of quick and thorough cleaning;

y quires no washer to seal the passages through the stopper, since the compressed air passage 1 requires no sealing as the liquid has no access to its delivery end, the liquid being wholly coniined within the sealing tip or valve.

What I claim is:

1. A liquid atomizer comprising a bottle stopper provided with a central bore extending through the stopper, the lower portion of which is reduced to provide an intermediate annular shoulder forming a supporting seat, a liquid eduction tube having a supporting sleeve engaging said shoulder and having guiding engagement with the surrounding wall of the passage above said shoulder, while aiording a restricted passage to permit compressed air to pass through into the bottle, an atomizing cap secured to the end of said stopper in position to surround the outer end of said eduction tube and of the stopper to form, in conjunction with the stopper, a compressed air chamber constricted at its outer end to form a guide surrounding the delivery end of the eduction tube and having a discharge oriiice in axial alignment with said eduction tube, said stopper being provided with a compressed air duct leading into said discharge chamber above the aforesaid restricted passage and shoulder.

2. A liquid atomizer comprising a bottle stopper provided with a central bore extending through the stopper, the lower portion of which is reduced to provide an intermediate annular shoulder forming a supporting seat, a liquid eduction tube having a supporting sleeve engaging said shoulder and having guiding engagement with the surrounding wall of the passage above said shoulder, while affording a, restricted passage to permit compressed air to pass through into the bottle, an atomizing cap secured to the end of said stopper in position to surround the outer end of said eduction tube and of the stopper to form, in conjunction with the stopper, a compressed air chamber constricted at its outer end to form a guide surrounding the delivery end of the eduction tube and having a discharge orice in axial alignment with said eduction tube, said cap being axially adjustable to vary the size of the air discharging passages between the eduction tube and the guide portion of the cap without disturbing the position of the eduction tube in the stopper, said stopper being provided with a compressed air duct leading into said discharge chamber above the aforesaid restricted passage and shoulder.

3. An atomizer for a liquid container comprising a stopper provided with an air passage extending through it from top to bottom, said air passage being provided with interior annular shoulders of diierent diameter intermediate of its length, a liquid eduction tube provided with an exterior sleeve adapted to seat against the lower shoulder and to form guiding engagement with the wall of the passage above the lower shoulder while leaving a restricted passage allo-wing compressed air to pass through said passage into the bottle, a sealing member insertable in the upper end of said air passage and when inserted resting 'upon and forming sealing engagement with the upper shoulder and having its upper end closed to cover the outlet end of said eduction tube, an atomizing cap having threaded connection with said stopper to surround the upper end of said stopper and the upper end of said eduction tube to form a compressed air chamber with an outlet orice in line with said eduction tube, said cap being provided with an interior shoulder engaging the upper end of said sealing member and forcing it tightly against the seat formed by said upper shoulder, thereby sealing the stopper against the escape of liquid.

4. An atomizer for a liquid container embracing a stopper provided with a central air passage extending through it from top to bottom, a liquid eduction tube removably positioned in said air passage to project beyond both ends thereof, a centrally perforated atomizing cap surrounding the upper end of said eduction tube and of said stopper to form in conjunction with the upper end of said tube an atomizing chamber and having threaded engagement .with the stopper to provide axial adjustment, the stopper being provided with a compressed air passage leading into said chamber, and a sealing device comprising a tube closed at its upper end tting over the upwardly projecting end of the eduction tube and forming sealing engagement at its lower end with the edge of the air passage when the threaded cap is screwed down to exert a downward thrust upon the upper end of said cap.

5. An atomizer for a liquid container comprising a stopper provided with means for tightly but detachably securing it to a liquid container, said stopper being provided with a central air passage providing upper and lower annular bearing ledges, and a liquid eduction tube removably mounted in said passage and provided with an external supporting member dimensioned to t into said passage and rest upon the lower of said ledges while permitting restricted passage of air into the container, an atomizing cap, provided with a central discharge orice, adjustably secured to said stopper by screw threaded engage ment and surrounding the upper end of said stopper and of said eduction tube, thus providing a compressed air chamber from which air may pass downward into the container and outward through the discharge orice, the stopper being provided with a compressed air duct for leading compressed air into said" chamber above said lowervledge, and a hollowrv sealing member telescoped over the upper enduof said eduction tube into sealing engagement with the upper annular Y ledge, the upper end of said sealingmember being positioned to receive the downward thrust of said cap when the cap is screwed down and thereby be held in tight sealing contact with said ledge.

6. An atomizer for a liquid container embracing in combination a stopper having a central 

